Oct. 20, 2008
Opening Statement…
“The girls have worked really hard this year and we’re seeing a lot of improvement. We have a relatively young team with a blend of transfer and original students. Out of our recruiting class from last year, two of the freshmen have made an immediate impact on our team and have played in most of our events. This week freshmen Ashlee Rose and Alyssa Randolph will be playing four and five at Auburn. The top of the lineup is made up of transfer students Mallory Blackwelder and Kristin Vincent and returning student-athlete Erica Still.
“Junior Erica Still is having a great year. She has really found her way and is becoming a lot more consistent. We’ve worked very hard with her on the mental side of her game. She’s a great ball striker and we’ve done a lot of putting work with her which is really paying off. Erica just came off of a top-10 finish two weeks ago in Knoxville at the Mercedes-Benz Invitational. It was a great field and I would venture to say that it was her best tournament as a Wildcat.
“My daughter, Mallory, transferred from Florida last year. She had a fairly good season last year and had some good top-five finishes. She encountered some injuries that plagued her in the spring but has sorted it out now. Mallory has started the season out kind of slow with a stroke average of 76. However, we just figured out that she was having some putting woes. Last week we took her putter over to Man O’ War Golf and we found out that her grip was six degrees open. So I think she is looking forward to having a good tournament this week at Auburn.
“Kristin Vincent transformed her golf swing which began last fall. She is becoming a premier ball striker and is hitting the ball really well. We still have to work on the mental and short game side of her game but she is really coming along strong.
“Basically, we’ll get into some skills training over the winter. We have some really great technology additions; we bought the Tommy Software Putting System and set it up in the new locker room so the girls can come by in their spare time and work on their putting. It measures eight different statistical categories like sweet spot hit, putter path, tempo, etc. I expect to see huge benefits in the spring. We’re going to begin using a K-Vest which has wireless sensors in it that brings up a 3-D image on the computer screen. We’ll be having drills at Nutter Field House once a week working on core stability and balance. So I’m really excited to see what that’s going to do for our team going forward.
“We’ve moved up in the rankings. The girls are confident that we will gain a berth into post-season play this year. That’s obviously our No. 1 goal. Last year, Mallory went into post-season as an individual but this year the girls believe they will be able to do this as a team.
“We will play four tournaments this fall and our schedule is very grueling. We see top golf competition on a weekly basis. Next year, I would like to get our schedule worked out so we have better spacing. I wasn’t able to do that this year because it was important for us to see the top competition. The girls are playing their way into being able to give me a little more flexibility in their schedule. Golfers need time off between tournaments. It’s intense because we’re gone five days a week and when we stack tournaments back to back, it’s really difficult. The University of Kentucky is an outstanding school academically and the girls are doing well but it is a challenge for them because they are gone five days a week, three straight weeks in a row with only two days to turn it around.”
On using technology to improve the golfers’ game…
“It’s a challenge to take an individual game like golf and turn it into a team sport. The five girls who are going to Auburn are ready to compete but I have three girls that are in the middle of working on their swing so we’re going to have the video camera set up for them. We’re getting much better; we had a big breakthrough by breaking 300 twice in the last event which is an all-time best for us. Last year, we would have a good start and then falter coming down the stretch, but this year we’re getting in some good Sunday performances and you have to do that to be a good team.”
On freshman Ashlee Rose’s performance…
“I have worked with Ashlee as her golf pro since she was eight-years-old so I know what she can do; she is awesome. With these girls coming in as freshmen, it’s all about getting comfortable so you can succeed and play to your potential. She’s on track to being great. Her father, who attended last week’s tournament, said he hasn’t seen her hit the ball so well. She is incredible. On Thursday in qualifying, she hit the ball 20 yards farther and started flying the greens at the University Club of Kentucky. We made a couple of adjustments and she made four birdies in a row which assured her a spot at Auburn. Ashlee is doing everything we’re asking her to do and is working extremely hard. I think she’s going to be a superstar.”
